Fury over Air New Zealand's gay kiss snub

Air New Zealand is scrapping a scene from a special All Blacks-themed in-flight safety video after complaints from members of the gay community. In the offending scene, a coy All Blacks centre Richard Kahui turns down an opportunity to peck the cheek of a gay Air New Zealand flight attendant.



The airline's operations and safety manager, David Morgan, said among the complaints was a suggestion from a professor that the video could lead to gay male suicides.

"When we created this video and discussed the scene featuring a gay male flight attendant and a rugby player with key stakeholders, including a number of the gay community, we received none of the feedback we have in the past week," Mr Morgan said. "The scene was not something that we, the people we tested the scene with, or indeed the participants in the scene, viewed as distasteful or likely to cause concern."



NZ Rugby Union respected the airline's decision, spokesman Brian Finn said. "It's a decision for the airline. They've kept us informed about it. We won't be commenting on this."